§3-9-1. False or fraudulent returns; tampering with, destroying or
misdelivering ballots, records, etc.; forgeries;
aiding, etc., in offense; penalties.
Every person named and identified in this section, who shall
violate any of the provisions of the election laws as herein
specified, shall be deemed guilty of a felony and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment in a state correctional
facility for not less than one nor more than ten years:

(a) Any commissioner of election or poll clerk who shall
knowingly make or cause to be made, or conspire with others to
make, a false return of the result of the votes cast for any
candidate at any precinct in an election held pursuant to law; or

(b) Any commissioner of election receiving the ballot of a
voter to be deposited in the ballot box at any election precinct,
who shall put another ballot in the box instead of the one received
by him; or

(c) Any commissioner of election or poll clerk, who knowingly
shall count and string a ballot not taken from the ballot box, in
lieu of one taken, or which should have been taken from such ballot
box; or

(d) Any commissioner of a county court, whether acting as such
or ex officio as a member of a board of canvassers or otherwise,
clerk of a county court, or other person, who shall, except as
authorized by law, abstract any ballot from any package of ballots
voted, sealed or returned from any election precinct, either before or after they are filed with the clerk of the county court, or who
shall in any manner change any such ballot from what it was when
voted by the voter, or who shall put another ballot in such package
in the place of the one so abstracted therefrom; or

(e) Any commissioner of a county court, whether acting as such
commissioner or ex officio as a member of a board of canvassers, or
otherwise, who shall knowingly make and enter of record, or in any
way aid, counsel, or advise the same to be done, or permit the same
to be done without objection on his part, any false or fraudulent
statement of the result of any election held within the county; or

(f) Any person who shall falsely make, or fraudulently deface,
or fraudulently destroy, any certificate of nomination, or any part
thereof, or file any certificate of nomination, knowing the same,
or any part thereof, to be falsely made, or suppress any
certificate of nomination which has been duly filed, or any part
thereof; or erase, deface, or change in any manner, any election
record, or any ballot, poll book, tally sheet or certificate of
election, deposited with either of the clerks of the county or
circuit courts; or conspire with another to do any of said acts; or
induce or attempt to induce any other persons to do any of said
acts; or

(g) Any person who shall aid, assist, counsel or advise in the
commission of any of the offenses above specified, whether or not
said acts, or any of them be committed or attempted to be
committed; or

(h) Any person, who, without the assent of another, shall sign
the name of such other person to any certificate, affidavit,
ballot, report, statement or writing, required under any provision
of this chapter, with intent to mislead and deceive; or who shall
use or employ any certificate, affidavit, ballot, report, statement
or writing to which the name of a person has been signed without
the authority of such person, knowing that such name has been so
signed with intent to mislead or deceive; or

(i) Any clerk of a court, poll clerk, member of the board of
ballot commissioners, commissioner of election, or messenger
intrusted with the custody of the ballots, who shall open
unlawfully any of the packages in which the ballots are contained,
or permit any of them to be opened, or destroy any of such ballots,
or permit them to be destroyed, or give, or deliver any such
packages or ballots to any person not lawfully entitled to receive
them, as in this chapter provided, or conspire to procure, or in
any way aid, abet, or connive at any robbery, loss or unlawful
destruction of any such ballots or packages; or

(j) Any person not duly authorized by law who shall, during
the progress of any election in this state, or after the closing of
the polls and before the ballots are counted and the results
ascertained, or within twelve months thereafter, open without
breaking, or break open or violate, the seals or locks of any
ballot box, paper, envelope or bag, in which ballots have been
deposited at or after such election, or who shall obtain possession of such ballot box, paper, envelope or bag containing such ballots,
and cancel, withhold, or destroy such ballots, or who shall
fraudulently or forcibly add to or diminish the number of ballots
legally deposited therein, or who shall fraudulently make any
erasure or alteration of any kind, upon any tally sheet, poll book,
list of voters, or election returns, deposited therein; or

(k) Any person who knowingly, willfully and without
authorization from the Secretary of State, a county clerk or
municipal clerk directly or indirectly, tampers with, deletes,
alters, damages or destroys or attempts to tamper with, delete,
alter, damage or destroy any computer or computer network that
contains voter registration files, records or data or who knowingly
introduces, directly or indirectly, a computer contaminant into any
computer, computer program or computer network that contains voter
registration files, records or data; or

(l) Any person who knowingly, directly or indirectly,
accesses, attempts to access, or causes to be accessed any voter
registration files, records or data stored on or in a computer
owned by the Secretary of State, a county commission or
municipality, without authorization; or

(m) Any person employed by the Secretary of State, a county
commission or a municipality who knowingly, directly or indirectly
accesses, attempts to access or causes to be accessed any voter
registration files, records or data stored on or in a computer in
an unauthorized manner, in excess of his or her authorization or for unauthorized use or purpose.